Abstract

Background

Heart failure represents a disease with steadily rising prevalence in Germany and Western industrialized nations. Diagnostic and therapeutic technologies continue to evolve, thereby improving survival but also becoming increasingly complex.

Objectives

The goal of the present article is to describe the current medical and technical possibilities, depending on the proper choice of the clinic.

Conclusions

Currently, there are no specialized in-patient care facilities for the explicit treatment of patients with advanced heart failure. Correct preclinical evaluation is essential to transfer the patient to the correct target clinic and, thus, to ensure optimal further diagnosis and therapy. Thus, these severely ill patients explicitly benefit from rapid transfer to a specialized center which has extensive experience in the treatment of advanced heart failure, including the use of percutaneous circulatory support systems. In this article, the new Advanced Heart Failure Unit in Heidelberg, Germany, is presented as a model for maximum level care.